Computer system and its event notification method

ABSTRACT

If a failure occurs in physical resources constituting a virtual volume, a management server device is notified of information required by a user. A computer system includes a server device for managing a plurality of virtual volumes, a storage apparatus having a storage unit equipped with a plurality of storage devices, and a controller for controlling data input to, or output from, the storage unit, a management server device which is an access target of a user terminal, and an event management device for managing an event(s) generated by the server device or the storage apparatus, wherein when the event management device receives the event, it judges the content of the event and identifies a virtual volume to be affected by the event; and if a service level that should be satisfied by the identified virtual volume is defined for the identified virtual volume, the event management device identifies, based on the content of the received event, whether an incident in violation of the service level has occurred or not, and then notifies the management server device of the identified content as an event based on an event filter.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a computer system having a storageapparatus and a server device, and to an event notification method forthe computer system.

BACKGROUND ART

With a computer system having a storage apparatus and a server device,real volumes composed of storage areas in storage devices arevirtualized as virtual volumes and the virtualized virtual volumes areprovided to a user terminal which is an access requestor. Under thiscircumstance, a user can operate desired applications by accessing thevirtual volumes, using the user terminal.

A virtualization device (hereinafter sometimes referred to as thevirtualization mechanism) for virtualizing real volumes to obtainvirtual volumes is implemented in, for example, a server device having ahypervisor, a SAN (Storage Area Network) switch, or a storage apparatus.

Meanwhile, in some case when managing virtual volumes, thecorrespondence relationship between a plurality of real volumes and aplurality of virtual volumes is registered in a volume management tableand a management server manages the correspondence relationship betweeneach real volume and each virtual volume by using the volume managementtable.

There is a suggested management server designed in such a manner thatwhen receiving failure notice at the time of the occurrence of a failurein a real volume or a virtual volume under the above-describedcircumstance, the management server refers to the volume managementtable based on the failure notice about the real volume or the failurenotice about the virtual volume, identifies the virtual volumecorresponding to the real volume, in which the failure occurred,associates the failure notice about the virtual volume with the failurenotice about the real volume, and outputs information, which associatesthe failure notice about the virtual volume with the failure noticeabout the real volume, to a terminal of an administrator (see PatentLiterature 1).

If a failure occurs in physical resources, such as storage devices,which constitute a virtual volume, a server device for managing virtualvolumes masks the failure by using an alternate storage device or analternate path and restores the failure on the background so thatapplications can continue to operate.

CITATION LIST Patent Literature

-   PTL 1: Japanese Patent No. 4130615

SUMMARY OF INVENTION Technical Problem

If a failure occurs in physical resources constituting a virtual volume,the conventional technology gives no consideration to provision of onlyinformation in violation of a communication service agreement enteredbetween a service provider and a user (hereinafter referred to as theService Level Agreement [SLA]) to a terminal of the user who usesvirtual volumes.

For example, if a failure occurs in physical resources constituting avirtual volume, redundancy may be temporarily lost, the performance ofthe virtual volume may degrade, or the SLA may be violated, depending onthe fault of the storage device, after the occurrence of the failureuntil the restoration of the failure.

Under this circumstance, some user may strictly define the SLA and usevirtual volumes and virtual servers on the assumption of the environmentenvisaged by the SLA. If a failure due to a violation of the SLA occurs,it is desirable that such a user should be promptly notified of thecontent of the SLA violation. This is because the user may sometimeswish to deal with the SLA violation by themselves. For example, ifperformance degradation of the virtual volume is predicted, there is apossibility that the user themselves may deal with the situation by, forexample, increasing the number of the virtual volumes or the number ofthe virtual servers or by using other virtual volumes whose performanceis not affected.

The present invention was devised in light of the problems of theconventional technology and it is an object of the invention to providea computer system and its event notification method capable of notifyinga device, which provides an access requestor with virtual volumes, ofinformation required by a user if a failure occurs in physical resourcesconstituting a virtual volume.

Solution to Problem

In order to achieve the above-described object, a computer systemaccording to the present invention includes a server device for managinga plurality of virtual volumes, a storage apparatus for controlling datainput to, or output from, a plurality of storage devices, a managementserver device for managing the virtual volumes as access targets of anaccess requestor, and an event management device for managing at leastthe server device or the storage apparatus as a management target andmanaging an event generated by the management target, wherein when theevent management device receives the event, it judges the content of theevent and identifies a virtual volume to be affected by the event, fromamong the virtual volumes; and if a service level that should besatisfied by the identified virtual volume is defined for the identifiedvirtual volume, the event management device identifies, based on thecontent of the received event, whether an incident in violation of theservice level has occurred or not, and then notifies the managementserver device of the identified content as an event based on an eventfilter.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

According to the present invention, it is possible to notify a device,which provides an access requestor with virtual volumes, of informationrequired by a user.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram explaining the overview of the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of acomputer system according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a block configuration diagram of a storage apparatus and relaydevices.

FIG. 4 is a logical configuration diagram of the storage apparatus.

FIG. 5 is a block configuration diagram of a server device.

FIG. 6 is a logical configuration diagram of the server device.

FIG. 7 is a block configuration diagram of a resource management system.

FIG. 8 is a block configuration diagram of an event notification system.

FIG. 9 is a configuration diagram of logical resource information.

FIG. 10 is a configuration diagram of physical resource information.

FIG. 11 is a configuration diagram of resource connection information.

FIG. 12 is a configuration diagram of domain information.

FIG. 13 is a configuration diagram of service level information.

FIG. 14 is a configuration diagram of event filter information.

FIG. 15 is a configuration diagram of failure restoration scheduleinformation.

FIG. 16 is a screen configuration diagram showing a display example of alogical resource allocation screen.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart explaining processing by a logical resourceallocation program.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart explaining processing by an event receptionprogram.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart explaining storage effect judgment processing forthe effect judgment program.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart explaining the storage effect judgment processingby the effect judgment program.

FIG. 21 is a flowchart explaining the storage effect judgment processingby the effect judgment program.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart explaining connecting-device effect judgmentprocessing by the effect judgment program.

FIG. 23 is a flowchart explaining the connecting-device effect judgmentprocessing by the effect judgment program.

FIG. 24 is a flowchart explaining server-device effect judgmentprocessing by the effect judgment program.

FIG. 25 is a flowchart explaining the server-device effect judgmentprocessing by the effect judgment program.

FIG. 26 is a flowchart explaining processing by a notification programfor a domain.

FIG. 27 is a screen configuration diagram showing a display example of adomain event information display screen.

FIG. 28 is a screen configuration diagram showing a display example of asystem administrator event display screen.

FIG. 29 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of acomputer system according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 30 is a logical configuration diagram of a storage apparatusaccording to the second embodiment.

FIG. 31 is a configuration diagram of information resource information.

FIG. 32 is a configuration diagram showing another embodiment of eventfilter information.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Overview of the Invention

The overview of the present invention will be explained with referenceto a block diagram of FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 1, a computer system includes an event notificationsystem 1, a storage apparatus 2, a server device 3, and a relay device4.

The server device 3 sends/receives information to/from the storageapparatus 2 via the relay device 4; and generates an event if a failureoccurs in any of a plurality of server resources constituting the serverdevice 3. This server device 3 is equipped with a hypervisor 37 having afunction as a virtualization device and a plurality of virtual servers(#A, #B) 38 operating on the hypervisor 37. The event herein means anevent including information indicating the content of the failure andinformation for identifying a failure occurrence site. Eventnotification can be implemented by using a trap defined by SNMP (SimpleNetwork Management Protocol). The event notification can also beimplemented by using a dedicated protocol other than SNMP. Furthermore,the same applies to events reported by various devices described below.

The hypervisor 37 virtualizes a plurality of real volumes 26, which arecomposed of storage areas of storage devices (not shown) in the storageapparatus 2, to obtain a plurality of virtual volumes (VV0, VV1) 371which are composed of virtual storage areas; and manages the pluralityof virtualized virtual volumes 371. Each virtual volume 371 is managedby, for example, a virtual server #A 38 and a virtual server #B 38. Thevirtual server #A 38 and the virtual volume (VV0) 371 are configured assection A resources 94 and are managed by a section A management system61.

The virtual server #B 38 and the virtual volume (VV1) 371 are configuredas section B resources 94 and are managed by a section B managementsystem 61. Information about the section A management system 61 isprovided via a network (not shown) to a user terminal (not shown) usedby the section A administrator 931 and information about the section Bmanagement system 61 is provided via a network (not shown) to a userterminal (not shown) used by the section B administrator 932.

The relay device 4 relays information or data sent and received betweenthe server device 3 and the storage apparatus 2; and if a failure occursin any of a plurality of relay resources constituting the relay device4, the relay device 4 generates an event.

The storage apparatus 2 has a plurality of real volumes 26 and acontroller (not shown) for controlling data input to, or output from,each real volume 26; and if a failure occurs in any of the plurality ofstorage resources constituting the storage apparatus 2, the storageapparatus 2 generates an event.

If an event is generated by any of the storage apparatus 2, the serverdevice 3, or the relay device 4, the event notification system 1receives the generated event, judges the content of the received event,and identifies a virtual volume to be affected by the generation of theevent, for example, the virtual volume (VV0) 371, from among theplurality of virtual volumes 371.

If a service level which should be satisfied by the identified virtualvolume (VV0) 371 is defined for the identified virtual volume (VV0) 371under the above-described circumstance, the event notification system 1identifies, based on the content of the received event, whether anincident in violation of the defined service level has occurred or not;and notifies the section A management system 61 of the identifiedcontent, as an event 91 based on an event filter, in accordance withevent filter information 121. The definition of the service level withrespect to the virtual volumes is recorded in service level information(not shown). Consequently, the section A administrator 931 can recognizethe occurrence of an incident in violation of the SLA by accessing thesection A management system 61, using the user terminal.

Furthermore, the event notification system 1 notifies an overallmanagement system 71 of the event received from the device, associatesthis event with the event 91 identified as described above based on theevent filter to obtain an associated event 92, and notifies the overallmanagement system 71 of the associated event 92. As a result, the systemadministrator 930 for managing the entire system can recognize theoccurrence of an incident in violation of the service level and thecontent of failure information, which associates this violation incidentwith the site where the failure occurred, by operating the overallmanagement system 71, using a system administrator terminal (not shown).

Overall Configuration

Next, FIG. 2 shows a block configuration diagram of the computer systemaccording to the first embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 2, the computer system includes the event notificationsystem 1, the storage apparatus 2, the server device 3, a plurality ofrelay devices (SW0, SW1) 4, a resource management system 5, the sectionA management server device 6, the section B management server device 6,and an overall management server 7; and the respective elements areconnected via an internal network 9. For example, a LAN (Local AreaNetwork) can be used as the internal network 9.

The event notification system 1 has a processor, a memory, and a networkcontroller (any of which is not shown). If an event is generated by anyof the storage apparatus 2, the server device 3, and the relay device 4,the event notification system 1 receives the generated event, judges thecontent of the received event, and identifies a virtual volume to beaffected by the generation of the event, for example, the virtual volume(VV0) 371, from among the plurality of virtual volumes 371.

If the service level is defined for the identified virtual volume 371under the above-described circumstance, the event notification system 1identifies, based on the received event, whether an incident inviolation of the defined service level has occurred or not; andnotifies, for example, the section A management system 61 of theidentified content in accordance with the event filter information 121.

Furthermore, the event notification system 1 notifies the overallmanagement system 71 of the content of the event received from thedevice and notifies the overall management system 71 of the event 92associated with the information about the service level violationincident reported to the section A management system 61.

The storage apparatus 2 has a plurality of real volumes 26 and acontroller (not shown) for controlling data input to, or output from,each real volume 26, as well as a storage event generator (not shown)for generating an event(s) if a failure occurs in any of the pluralityof storage resources constituting the storage apparatus 2.

Each real volume 26 is composed of storage areas of one or more storagedevices. For example, HDDs (Hard Disk Drives), semiconductor memorydevices, optical disk devices, magneto-optical disk devices, magnetictape devices, and flexible disk devices can be used as the storagedevices.

If HDDs are used as the storage devices, for example, FC (Fibre Channel)disks, SCSI (Small Computer System Interface) disks, SATA (Serial ATA)disks, ATA (AT Attachment) disks, or SAS (Serial Attached SCSI) diskscan be used.

Furthermore, each storage device can constitute a RAID (Redundant Arrayof Inexpensive Disks) group such as RAID4, RAID5, or RAID6 and eachstorage device can be divided into a plurality of RAID groups. Underthis circumstance, a plurality of logical units (hereinafter sometimesreferred to as LUs (Logical Units)) or a plurality of logical volumescan be formed in a physical storage area of each storage device.

The server device (SV0) 3 has a function sending/receiving informationto/from the storage apparatus 2 via the relay device 4 and also has afunction as a server event generator (not shown) for generating anevent(s) if a failure occurs in any of a plurality of server resourcesconstituting the server device 3. This server device 3 is equipped withthe hypervisor 37 having a function as a virtualization device and aplurality of virtual servers (VM0, VM1) 38 operating on the hypervisor37.

The hypervisor 37 virtualizes a plurality of real volumes 26, which arecomposed of storage areas of the storage devices (not shown) in thestorage apparatus 2, to obtain a plurality of virtual volumes 371 whichare composed of virtual storage areas; and manages the plurality ofvirtualized virtual volumes 371. Each virtual volume 371 is used by, forexample, the plurality of virtual servers (VM0, VM1) 38 in order tostore data.

The relay device 4 has a function relaying information or data sent andreceived between the server device 3 and the storage apparatus 2 andalso has a function as a relay event generator (not shown) forgenerating an event(s) if a failure occurs in any of a plurality ofrelay resources constituting the relay device 4.

The resource management system 5 manages the plurality of storageresources (resources including physical resources and logical resources)constituting the storage apparatus 2, the plurality of server resources(resources including physical resources and logical resources)constituting the server device 3, and the plurality of relay resources(resources including physical resources and logical resources)constituting each relay device 4.

The section A management server device 6 is connected to the userterminal (not shown) used by the section A administrator 931 via thenetwork 9 (or a network, which is not shown in the drawing, or theInternet) and has the section A management system 61 manage the virtualvolumes 371 and the virtual server (VM0) 38 which are exclusivelyallocated to section A. Information managed by the section A managementsystem 61 is provided to the user terminal used by the section Aadministrator 931 via the network 9, a network, which is not shown inthe drawing, or the Internet. Incidentally, a group of logical resourcessuch as the virtual volumes and the virtual server which are managedexclusively by section A will be hereinafter referred to as the domain#0.

The section B management server device 6 is connected to the userterminal (not shown) used by the section B administrator 932 via thenetwork 9 (or a network, which is not shown in the drawing, or theInternet) and has the section B management system 61 manage the virtualvolumes 371 and the virtual server (VM1) 38 which are exclusivelyallocated to section B. Information managed by the section B managementsystem 61 is provided to the user terminal used by the section Badministrator 932 via the network 9 or a network, which is not shown inthe drawing, or the Internet. Incidentally, a group of logical resourcessuch as the virtual volumes and the virtual server which are managedexclusively by section B will be hereinafter referred to as the domain#1.

The overall management server 7 has the overall management system 71having a processor, a memory, and a network controller (any of which isnot shown) manage the entire computer system. Under this circumstance,the system administrator 930 for managing the entire system canrecognize information managed by the resource management system 5 andthe content of events sent from the event notification system 1 byoperating the overall management system 71, using the systemadministrator terminal (not shown).

Incidentally, the event notification system 1, the resource managementsystem 5, and the overall management server 7 can be integrated andconfigured as an event management device.

Next, FIG. 3 shows a block configuration diagram of the relay devicesand the storage apparatus.

Referring to FIG. 3, the relay device (SW0) 4 has a plurality of powersources 42 and a plurality of relay ports (SP02, SP03) 41 and the relaydevice (SW1) 4 has a plurality of power sources 42 and a plurality ofrelay ports (SP12, SP13) 41.

The storage apparatus 2 is constituted from a controller #1 22, acontroller #2 22, a plurality of storage devices such as HDDs 21, and aplurality of power sources 24; and each controller 22 and each HDD 21are connected via an internal bus 23.

The controller #1 22 is constituted from a processor 221 for supervisingand controlling the entire controller 22, a memory 222 for storing, forexample, control programs, and a plurality of controller ports (CP00,CP01) 223. The controller port (CP00) 223 is connected to the relay port(SP02) 41 and the controller port (CP01) 223 is connected to the relayport (SP03) 41.

The controller #2 22 is constituted from a processor 221 for supervisingand controlling the entire controller 22, a memory 222 for storing, forexample, control programs, and a plurality of controller ports (CP10,CP11) 223. The controller port (CP10) 223 is connected to the relay port(SP12) 41 and the controller port (CP11) 223 is connected to the relayport (SP13) 41.

FIG. 4 shows a logical configuration diagram of the storage apparatus.

When RAID groups are composed of a plurality of HDDs 21 in FIG. 4, forexample, a RAID group #0 (RG1) 25 is composed of a plurality of HDDs 21and a RAID group #1 (RG1) 25 is composed of plurality of HDDs 21.

A plurality of real volumes (PV0, PV1, PV2) 26 are composed of storageareas of the plurality of HDDs 21 constituting the RAID group #0 25. Aplurality of real volumes (PV3, PV4, PV5) 26 are composed of storageareas of the plurality of HDDs 21 constituting the RAID group #1 25.

The real volumes (PV0, PV1, PV2) 26 are configured so that they can beaccessed from the server device 3 via the controller ports (CP00, CP10)223; and the real volumes (PV3, PV4, PV5) 26 are configured so that theycan be accessed from the server device 3 via the controller ports (CP10,CP11) 223.

FIG. 5 shows a physical configuration diagram of the server device.

Referring to FIG. 5, the server device 3 has a plurality of physicalresources including a plurality of processors 31 for supervising andcontrolling the entire server device 3, a memory 32 for storing variousprograms and information, host bus adapters (HB0, HB1) 33 forsending/receiving data to/from each relay device 4, a plurality of powersources 34, and a network controller 35; and the respective elements areconnected via an internal network 36.

The host bus adapter #0 33 has a plurality of host ports (HP00, HP01)331. The host port (HP00) 331 is connected to the relay port (SP00) 41of the relay device (SW0) 4, and the host port (HP01) 331 is connectedto the relay port (SP10) 41 of the relay device (SW1) 4.

The host bus adapter #1 33 has a plurality of host ports (HP10, HP11)331. The host port (HP10) 331 is connected to the relay port (SP01) 41of the relay device (SW0) 4, and the host port (HP11) 331 is connectedto the relay port (SP11) 41 of the relay device (SW1) 4.

Next, FIG. 6 shows a logical configuration diagram of the server device.

Referring to FIG. 6, the server device 4 includes an operating system(OS) 36, a hypervisor 37, a virtual server #0 38, and a virtual server#1 38.

The hypervisor 37 operates on the operating system 36 and also amonitoring unit 361 for monitoring whether a failure exists or not ineach of the physical resources constituting the hypervisor 37 and theserver device 3 operates on the operating system 36. This monitoringunit 361 functions as a server event generator for generating an eventwhen a failure occurs in the hypervisor 37 or a failure occurs in thevarious physical resources. Incidentally, the hypervisor 37 itself canhave a function equivalent to that of the monitoring unit 361.Furthermore, hardware independent of the operating system 36 can beequipped with a function monitoring the physical resources and a failurenotice function.

The hypervisor 37 configures virtual volumes #0 to #3 (VV0, VV1, VV2,VV3) 371 as virtual volumes obtained by virtualizing the real volumes26.

The virtual server #0 (VM0) 38 has applications 381 and an OS (operatingsystem) 382 and activates the applications 381 operating on the OS 382.Also, the virtual server #0 (VM0) 38 is configured so that it can accessthe virtual volumes #0, #1 (VV0, VV1) 371; and these virtual volumes areused by the applications 381 on the virtual server (VV0) to store data.

The virtual server #1 (VM1) 38 has applications 381 and an OS (operatingsystem) 382 and activates the applications 381 operating on the OS 382.Also, the virtual server #1 (VM1) 38 is configured so that it can accessthe virtual volumes #2, #3 (VV2, VV3) 371; and these virtual volumes areused by the applications 381 on the virtual server (VV1) to store data.

Next, FIG. 7 shows a block configuration diagram of the resourcemanagement system.

Referring to FIG. 7, the resource management system 5 has a processor 51for supervising and controlling the entire resource management system 5,a memory 52 for storing various information and programs, and a networkcontroller 53 for controlling, for example, data transferred over thenetwork 9 and the respective elements are connected via an internal bus55. The memory 52 stores logical resource information 521, physicalresource information 522, resource connection information 523, domaininformation 524, service level information 525, and a logical resourceallocation program 526.

Next, FIG. 8 shows a block configuration diagram of the eventnotification system.

Referring to FIG. 8, the event notification system 1 has a processor 11for supervising and controlling the entire event notification system, amemory 12 for storing various information and programs, and a networkcontroller 13 for controlling, for example, data transferred over thenetwork 9 and the respective elements are connected via an internal bus15.

The memory 12 stores event filter information (a domain administrator)121, failure restoration schedule information 122, an event receptionprogram 123, an effect judgment program 124, an event notificationprogram (for the domain administrator) 125, and an event notificationprogram (for the system administrator) 126.

Next, FIG. 9 shows a configuration diagram of the logical resourceinformation.

Referring to FIG. 9, the logical resource information 521 is informationfor managing a plurality of logical resources constituting the storageapparatus 2 or the server device 3 and is constituted from an ID field521A, a type field 521B, a subordinate resource ID field 521C, and adomain ID field 521D.

The ID (IDentifier) is information about an identifier for uniquelyidentifying each logical resource. Each entry of this ID field 521Astores: PV0 to PV5 when identifying a real volume 26; and VV0 to VV3when identifying a virtual volume 371. Furthermore, each entry of the IDfield 521A stores: RG0 or RG1 when identifying a RAID group; and VM1 orVM2 when identifying a virtual server 38.

The type is information about a name for identifying the type of eachlogical resource. Each entry of the type field 521B stores: REAL VOLUMEwhen the relevant logical resource is a real volume 26; VIRTUAL VOLUMEwhen the relevant logical resource is a virtual volume 371; RAID GROUPwhen the relevant logical resource is a RAID group; or VIRTUAL SERVERwhen the relevant logical resource is a virtual server 38.

The subordinate resource ID is an identifier for identifying a resourcelocated at a subordinate position of the logical resource with therelevant ID. Each entry of the subordinate resource ID field 521C storesthe identifier for identifying the relevant subordinate resource.

For example, if the real volume 26 is composed of the RG (RAID group)#0, an entry corresponding to the real volume 26 composed of the RG(RAID group) #0 stores RG0. Furthermore, if the virtual volume 371 iscomposed of a plurality of real volumes PV0, PV1, an entry correspondingto this virtual volume 371 stores PV0, PV1. In a case of a real volume,a virtual volume, or a RAID group, information about its maximumcapacity may be further stored in a maximum capacity field (not shown inthe drawing). Also, in a case of the real volume, a total value of thecapacity allocated to the virtual volume may be further stored in anallocated capacity field (not shown in the drawing).

The domain ID is an identifier for identifying the relevant domain. Anentry of the domain ID field 521D stores DM0 or DM1 as the identifier ofthe relevant domain. DM0 is the identifier of the domain #0 and DM1 isthe identifier of the domain #1.

Next, FIG. 10 shows a configuration diagram of the physical resourceinformation.

Referring to FIG. 10, the physical resource information 522 isinformation for managing a plurality of physical resources constitutingthe storage apparatus 2 or the server device 3 and is constituted froman ID field 522A, a type field 522B, a superior resource ID field 522C,and a status field 522D.

The ID is information about an identifier for uniquely identifying eachphysical resource. Each entry of the ID field 522A stores: ST0 whenidentifying the storage apparatus 2; HD0 to HD7 when identifying the HDD21; and CT0 or CT1 when identifying the controller 22. Furthermore, eachentry of the ID field 522A stores: CP00 to CP11 when identifying thecontroller port 223; and PS00 or PS01 when identifying the power source34. Furthermore, Each entry of the ID field 522A stores: the identifierSV0 when identifying the server device 3; HB0 or HB1 when identifyingthe HBA 33; and HP00, HP01, HP10, HP11 when identifying the host port331.

The type is information about a name for identifying the type of eachphysical resource. Each entry of the type field 522B stores: STORAGEAPPARATUS in a case of the storage apparatus 2; HDD in a case of the HDD21; CONTROLLER in a case of the controller 22; CONTROLLER PORT in a caseof the controller port 223; and POWER SOURCE in a case of the powersource 34. Furthermore, each entry of the type field 522B stores: SERVERDEVICE in a case of the server device 3; HBA in a case of the HBA 33;and HOST PORT in a case of the host port 331.

The superior resource ID is information about an identifier foridentifying a resource located at a superior position of each physicalresource.

From among entries of the superior resource ID field 522C, for example,an entry corresponding to the HDD 21 stores ST0 when the superiorresource of the HDD 21 is the storage apparatus 2; and an entrycorresponding to the controller 22 stores ST0 when the superior resourceof the controller 22 is the storage apparatus 2. Furthermore, an entrycorresponding to the controller port 223 stores CT0 or CT1 when thesuperior resource of the controller port 223 is the controller 22.

The status is information about the status of each physical resource.Each entry of the status field 522D stores: information indicatingNORMAL when the relevant physical resource is in a normal state; andinformation indicating FAILURE when a failure has occurred in therelevant physical resource.

Next, FIG. 11 shows a configuration diagram of the resource connectioninformation.

Referring to FIG. 11, the resource connection information 523 isinformation for managing a connection relationship between a pluralityof resources and is constituted from an ID field 523A, a connectedtarget ID field 523B, and a type field 523C.

The ID is information about an identifier for uniquely identifying eachresource. An entry of the ID field 523A stores: PV0 to PV5 whenidentifying the real volume 26; CP00 to CP11 when identifying thecontroller port 223; and HP00 to HP11 when identifying the host port ofthe host bus adapter 33.

The connected target ID is information about an identifier for uniquelyidentifying a connected target of each resource. An entry of theconnected target ID field 523B stores an identifier for identifying theconnected target of each resource. For example, if the connected targetsof the real volume PV0 26, from among the real volumes 26, are thecontroller ports (CP00, CP10) 223, the connected target ID field 523Bstores CP00, CP10.

The type is information about the type of connections between theresources. An entry of the type field 523C stores, for example: LUN whenthe real volume 26 is configured so that it can be accessed from thecontroller port 223; and CABLE when the controller port 223 is connectedto the relay port 41.

Next, FIG. 12 shows a configuration diagram of the domain information.

Referring to FIG. 12, the domain information 524 is information formanaging the section A management system 61 and the section B managementsystem 61 and is constituted from a domain ID field 524A, a managementserver address field 524B, an SNMP address field 524C, and a spool field524D.

The domain ID is information about an identifier for uniquelyidentifying the relevant domain. An entry of the domain ID field 524Astores, for example: DM0 as the domain ID corresponding to the domain #0of section A; or DM1 as the domain ID corresponding to the domain #1 ofsection B.

The management server address is an address allocated to the section Amanagement server device 6 or the section B management server device 6.An entry of the management server address field 524B stores192.168.1.100 as an address corresponding to the section A managementserver device 6 or 192.168.1.101 as an address corresponding to thesection B management server device 6.

The SNMP address is an address used for event notification using an SNMPtrap. An entry corresponding to the section B management server device6, from among entries of the SNMP address field 524C, stores192.168.1.111.

If a plurality of domains are managed by one management system, a spool(event spool) is provided in the management system and events specificto a domain are stored in the spool. The administrator of that domaincan refer to the events stored in the spool. An entry corresponding tothe domain ID DM2, from among entries of the spool field 524D, storesDM2_S as the name for identifying the spool. This indicates that eventsaddressed to the domain corresponding to the domain ID DM2 are stored inthe spool DM2_S provided in the common management system.

Next, FIG. 13 shows a configuration diagram of the service levelinformation.

Referring to FIG. 13, the service level information 525 is informationabout the service level defined as the SLA and is constituted from an IDfield 525A, a performance field 525B, an availability field 525C, areliability field 525D, and a backup field 525E.

The ID is information about an identifier for uniquely identifying eachvirtual volume 371. Each entry of the ID field 525A stores, for example,VV0 to VV3 as the identifier for identifying the relevant virtual volume371.

The performance is information about performance required for eachvirtual volume 371. An entry of the performance field 525B stores:information indicating A when the service level is high; informationindicating B when the service level is medium; and informationindicating C when the service level is low. A blank means that noservice level is defined.

The availability is information about availability of the virtual volume371. Each entry of the availability field 525C stores: informationindicating A when the service level relating the availability of thevirtual volume 371 is high; information indicating B when the servicelevel relating the availability of the virtual volume 371 is medium; andinformation indicating C when the service level is low. A blank meansthat no service level is defined.

The reliability is information about reliability of the virtual volume371. An entry of the reliability field 525D stores: A when the servicelevel relating the reliability of the virtual volume 371 is high;information indicating B when the service level relating the reliabilityof the virtual volume 371 is medium; and information indicating C whenthe service level is low. A blank means that no service level isdefined.

The backup is information about the required number of the virtualvolumes 371 when backing up the relevant virtual volume 371. An entry ofthe backup field 525E stores information indicating the number of thevirtual volumes 371 required for a backup. For example, if five virtualvolumes 371 are required to back up the relevant virtual volume 371,information indicating 5 is stored in the backup field 525E.

Next, FIG. 14 shows a configuration diagram of the event filterinformation.

If an incident in violation of the service level occurs, the eventfilter information 121 shown in FIG. 14 is information for managing anevent notification method for reporting that incident and is constitutedfrom an ID field 121A, a performance field 121B, an availability field121C, a reliability field 121D, and a backup field 121E.

An entry of the ID field 121A stores, for example, VV0 to VV3 as anidentifier for identifying the relevant virtual volume 371.

The performance is information for defining the event notificationmethod in a case of a violation of the service level with respect to theperformance of each virtual volume 371. The availability is informationfor defining the event notification method in a case of a violation ofthe service level with respect to the availability of the virtual volume371. The reliability is information for defining the event notificationmethod in a case of a violation of the service level with respect to thereliability of the virtual volume 371. The backup is information fordefining the event notification method in a case of a violation of theservice level with respect to the backup of the virtual volume 371.

If the content of the event does not reach the service level defined bythe service level information 525 in FIG. 13, each entry of theperformance field 121B, the availability field 121C, the reliabilityfield 121D, and the backup field 121E stores information indicating SLNOT REACHED (first filter information) which means that the content ofthe event will be reported.

On the other hand, if it is unnecessary to report the service levelviolation regardless of whether or not the service level is defined,each entry of the performance field 121B to the backup field 121E storesinformation indicating NONE. Furthermore, if a violation of the servicelevel occurs, each entry of the performance field 121B to the backupfield 121E stores information indicating ALL (second filter information)when notice should be always made.

Next, FIG. 15 shows a configuration diagram of the failure restorationschedule information.

Referring to FIG. 15, the failure restoration schedule information 122is information for retaining time required for failure restoration ofeach type of the resources and is constituted from a device type field122A, a site field 122B, a timerequired-for-alternation field 122C, anda time-required-for-replacement field 122D.

An entry of the device type field 122A stores information about thedevice type. For example, an entry of the device type field 122A stores:information indicating STORAGE in a case of the storage apparatus;information indicating CONNECTING DEVICE in a case of the relay device;and information indicating SERVER DEVICE in a case of the server device.

An entry of the site field 122B stores information indicating the typeof a failure occurrence site in the device of the type shown in thedevice type field 122A. For example, in a case of the storage apparatus,an entry of the site field 122B stores HDD and RAID GROUP with respect aRAID group and HDD.

The time required for alternation is information about the maximumrequired time to switch the processing to another system when thefailure site indicated by the site field 122B is a redundantconfiguration. An entry of the time-required-for-alternation field 122Cstores information indicating, for example, +0:30 when a maximum of 30minutes are required as the time required for alternation.

The time required for replacement is information required to restore thefailure site indicated by the site field 122B by means of, for example,replacement of the site. An entry of the time-required-for-replacementfield 122A stores information about maximum required time to restore thefailure occurrence site. For example, an entry of thetime-required-for-replacement field 122A stores information indicating+4:00 when a maximum of four hours are required to restore the HDD orthe RAID group in the storage apparatus.

FIG. 16 shows a display example of a logical resource allocation screen.

Referring to FIG. 16, a logical resource allocation screen 81 is ascreen displayed on a display screen of the user terminal. A sectionadministrator can create a desired virtual volume by using this screen.An area 810 for creating a virtual volume 371 displays a user ID and adomain. The user ID is a user ID of a section system administrator whooperates this screen. The domain is a domain ID of a domain recognizedas a management target by the section system administrator who operatesthis screen. These pieces of information have been already input asauthentication information by the section system administrator on aprevious screen before this screen is displayed. An area for basicsettings is displayed below the above-described area. The capacity ofthe virtual volume 371 used by the user is input in a capacity inputarea 811 as operated by the section system administrator (hereinafterreferred to as the user).

A service level display area 812 displays performance, availability,reliability, and backup as service level items. Areas A, B, C, and NONEfor selecting the service level of each item are displayed in the orderof high, medium, and low corresponding to the performance, availability,and reliability items. Areas 1, 5, 10, and NONE for selecting the numberof the virtual volumes 371 required for a backup are displayedcorresponding to the backup item.

Furthermore, the ID of a virtual server 38 to which the created virtualvolume 371 is to be allocated is input to a virtual server input area813 for selecting the virtual server as operated by the user.

Selection items for performance, availability, reliability, and backupare displayed in a notification condition selection area 814 in eventnotice settings. The user can select either Case Where All Applies orService Level Violation, or can select neither of them with respect toeach of these selection items. Furthermore, if either of them isselected, the user may further select either one of Only One Hour orLonger Restoration Time or Only One Day or Longer Restoration Time, orcan select neither of them.

Now, if the user selects Case Where All Applies with respect to any ofthe items, this content will be reflected as ALL in the event filterinformation 121 in FIG. 14. Moreover, if the user selects Service LevelViolation with respect to any of the items, this content will bereflected as SL NOT REACHED in the event filter information 121 in FIG.14. Furthermore, if the user selects Only One Hour or Longer RestorationTime, one hour or longer restoration time, in addition to ALL and SL NOTREACHED, will be added as the third filter information to the eventfilter information 121. The same applies to the case of Only One Day orLonger Restoration Time.

Next, the content of processing by the logical resource allocationprogram will be explained with reference to a flowchart in FIG. 17.

The logical resource allocation program 526 is activated by theprocessor 51 for the resource management system 5.

Firstly, when the logical resource allocation program 526 is activatedby the processor 51 for the resource management system 5, it startsvirtual volume allocation processing (step 1000), receives parametersinput to the logical resource allocation screen 81 in FIG. 16, such asthe required capacity of a virtual volume 371 and the ID of the virtualserver 38 (step 1001), selects an appropriate real volume 26 to create avirtual volume 371 with the capacity required by the user (step 1002),and virtualizes the selected real volume 26 and creates the virtualvolume 371 (step 1003). The real volume 26 with an appropriate unusedcapacity can be selected by using the logical resource information 521.The virtual volume 371 can be composed of a plurality of real volumes265. An appropriate ID which does not overlap with any existing resourceID is set to the created virtual volume 371.

Next, the logical resource allocation program 526 registers the createdvirtual volume 371, together with the ID of the domain managed by theuser, in the logical resource information 521 (step 1004); registerseach item of the service level, which has been input, in the servicelevel information 525 (step 1005); registers the content of theselection area 814 (the content selected by the user), from among theevent notice settings, in the event filter information 121 (step 1006);sets (allocates) the created virtual volume 371 so that it can beaccessed from the virtual server 38 with the ID which has been input tothe virtual server input area 813 (step 1007); and terminates theprocessing in this routine (step 1008). The creation of the virtualvolume 371 and the allocation of the virtual volume 371 to the virtualserver 38 can be executed by controlling the hypervisor 37 via thenetwork 9.

Next, the processing content of the event reception program 123 will beexplained with reference to a flowchart in FIG. 18.

The event reception program 123 is activated by the processor 11 for theevent notification system 1.

After the event reception program 123 is activated by the processor 11,it starts event reception processing (step 1100), executes event waitprocessing (step 1101), judges whether it has received an event or not(step 1102), and repeats the processing in step 1101 and step 1102 untilit receives an event.

When receiving an event, the event reception program 123 judges whetherthe event is a storage event or not (step 1104).

If an affirmative judgment is returned in step 1104, that is, if theevent reception program 123 has received the event from the storageapparatus 2, the event reception program 123 executes storage effectjudgment processing (step 1105); and if a negative judgment is returnedin step 1104, the event reception program 123 judges whether therelevant event is a connecting device event or not (step 1106).

If an affirmative judgment is returned in step 1106, that is, if theevent reception program 123 has received the event from the relay device4 which is the connecting device, the event reception program 123executes connecting-device effect judgment processing (step 1107); andif a negative judgment is returned in step 1106, the event receptionprogram 123 judges whether the relevant event is a server device eventor not (step 1108).

If an affirmative judgment is returned in step 1108, that is, if theevent reception program 123 has received the event from the serverdevice 3, the event reception program 123 executes server-device effectjudgment processing (step 1109).

At the end of the above-described processing, the event receptionprogram 123 executes system administrator notification processing (step1110) and domain administrator notification processing (step 1111) andreturns to the processing in step 1101. In step 1110, the eventreception program 123 activates the event notification program (for thesystem administrator) 126 to send, to the overall management system 71,information about the effects on the resources allocated to each section(the service level violation incident), which were judged in step 1105,1107, 1109 in association with the event information received from thedevice. In step 1111, the event reception program 123 activates theevent notification program (for the domain administrator) 125 and sendsthe effects on the resources allocated to each section, to the sectionmanagement system 61 for managing the domain to which the resources areallocated.

Next, the content of the storage effect judgment processing will beexplained with reference to flowcharts in FIG. 19 to FIG. 21.Incidentally, the processor 11 forms, in the memory 12, a template forthe section event information to be reported to the section managementsystem 61 before executing the above-mentioned processing. This templatefor the section event information will be eventually sent, asinformation about the effects on the resources allocated to eachsection, by the event notification program (for the domainadministrator) 125 (which is activated in step 1111 in FIG. 18) to thesection management system 61. Furthermore, the effect judgment program124 communicates with the logical resource allocation program 526 viathe network 9 so that the logical resource information 521, the physicalresource information 522, the resource connection information 523, thedomain information 524, and the service level information 525 can beaccessed.

If an affirmative judgment is returned in step 1104 in FIG. 18, theeffect judgment program 124 starts the storage effect judgmentprocessing (step 1200).

The effect judgment program 124 judges the content of the received eventand judges whether or not the received event is an event of the HDD 21or the RAID group 25 (step 1201). If a negative judgment is returned instep 1201, the effect judgment program 124 proceeds to processing instep 1212; and if an affirmative judgment is returned in step 1201, theeffect judgment program 124 identifies the virtual volume 371 and thedomain, to which that virtual volume 371 is allocated, based on thecontent of the received event and the logical resource information 521(steps 1202 and 1203) and judges, based on the content of the receivedevent, whether the relevant event is degeneration of the RAID group ornot (step 1204).

If a negative judgment is returned in step 1204, the effect judgmentprogram 124 proceeds to processing in step 1208; and if an affirmativejudgment is returned in step 1204, the effect judgment program 124executes processing for adding reliability degradation information tothe template for the section event information (step 1205) and judgeswhether the relevant event is the RAID group reconstruction or high load(step 1206). Incidentally, the reliability degradation informationherein used includes the identifier (ID) of the virtual volume 37 whichis a target, information which indicates the occurred incident such asreliability degradation, and the overview of a cause for the reliabilitydegradation. The overview of the cause is, for example, informationmeaning Storage Failure Requiring Device Replacement and does notinclude any detained information such as a specific location of thefailure. Furthermore, all of reliability degradation information,availability degradation information, and performance degradationinformation, which are to be added to the template for the section eventinformation below, includes the identifier (ID) of the target virtualvolume 37, the information indicating the occurred incident asidentified by the judgment processing, and the information indicatingthe overview of the cause in the same manner as in the example describedin this paragraph. A template for the section event information for onesection may sometimes include identifiers of a plurality of virtualvolumes 371, and the information indicating the occurred incident andthe information indicating the overview of the cause are associated withthe virtual volumes 371. Furthermore, the template for the section eventinformation includes failure occurrence time included in the eventinformation received from various devices.

If a negative judgment is returned in step 1206, the effect judgmentprogram 124 proceeds to processing in step 1208; and if an affirmativejudgment is returned in step 1204, the effect judgment program 124executes processing for adding the performance degradation informationto the template for the section event information (step 1207) andjudges, based on the content of the received event, whether a fault hasoccurred in the RAID group or not (step 1208).

If a negative judgment is returned in step 1208, the effect judgmentprogram 124 proceeds to processing in step 1210; and if an affirmativejudgment is returned in step 1208, for example, if the HDDs 21 cannot beaccessed due to the fault of the RAID group, the effect judgment program124 executes processing for adding the failure information to thetemplate for the section event information (step 1209), and thenexecutes processing for adding recovery prediction information to thetemplate for the section event information (step 1210), therebyterminating the processing in this routine (step 1211). The recoveryprediction information to be added is decided by referring to thefailure restoration schedule information 122. For example, in a case ofthe RAID group degeneration, +0:30 which is the time required foralternation is adopted; and in a case of the fault of the RAID group,+4:00 which is the time required for replacement is adopted.Furthermore, required time according to the failure site and the failuretype is also specified in the following processing and is set as therecovery prediction information.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 20, if a negative judgment isreturned in step 1201, the effect judgment program 124 judges, based onthe received event, whether or not a failure has occurred in thecontroller 22 or the port, for example, the controller port 223 (step1212). If a negative judgment is returned in step 1212, the effectjudgment program 124 proceeds to processing in step 1220; and if anaffirmative judgment is returned in step 1212, the effect judgmentprogram 124 identifies a connected-target real volume as a connectedtarget of the controller 22 or the controller port 223 (step 1213) asshown in FIG. 20.

For example, in a case of a failure of the controller ports CP00, CP10,the effect judgment program 124 identifies the real volume (PV0) 26 asthe connected-target real volume 26 based on the resource connectioninformation 523.

Next, the effect judgment program 124 identifies the virtual volume 371based on the identified real volume 26 (step 1214) and identifies thedomain based on the identified virtual volume 371 (step 1215). Theeffect judgment program 124 refers to the logical resource information521 in order to execute the above processing. Subsequently, the effectjudgment program 124 identifies an alternate path for the real volume 26based on the identified domain (step 1216) and judges whether alternateaccess is possible or not (step 1217).

For example, the effect judgment program 124 refers to the physicalresource information 522 and the resource connection information 523 andjudges whether one of the connected target IDs of the identified realvolumes 26 is NORMAL or not. If one of the connected target IDs of theidentified real volumes 26 is NORMAL, this means the alternate access ispossible. So, the effect judgment program 124 executes processing foradding the performance and availability degradation information to thetemplate for the section event information (step 1218).

If a fault has occurred in all the connected target IDs of theidentified real volumes 26, this means the alternate access isimpossible. So, the effect judgment program 124 executes processing foradding the failure information to the template for the section eventinformation (step 1219), Subsequently, the effect judgment program 124executes processing for adding the recovery prediction information tothe template for the section event information (step 1210) andterminates the processing in this routine (step 1211).

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 21, if a negative judgment is returned instep 1212, the effect judgment program 124 judges whether a failure hasoccurred in the power source 24 of the storage apparatus 2 or not (step1220). If an affirmative judgment is returned in step 1220, the effectjudgment program 124 identifies all the real volumes of the storageapparatus 2 (step 1221), identifies the virtual volume 371 composed ofthe identified real volumes 26 (step 1222), and identifies the domainbased on the identified virtual volume 371 (step 1223).

Next, the effect judgment program 124 refers to the physical resourceinformation 522 and judges whether or not an alternate power source innormal operation state exists in the storage apparatus 2 which generatedthe event (step 1224).

If an affirmative judgment is returned in step 1224, the effect judgmentprogram 124 recognizes the existence of the alternate power source andexecutes processing for adding the availability degradation informationto the template for the section event information (step 1225) and thenproceeds to processing in step 1210 in FIG. 19; and if a negativejudgment is returned in step 1224, that is, if the alternate powersource does not exist, the effect judgment program 124 executesprocessing for adding the failure information to the template for thesection event information (step 1226) and then proceeds to processing instep 1210 in FIG. 19.

Furthermore, if a negative judgment is returned in step 1220 in FIG. 21,the effect judgment program 124 executes processing for judging othereffects (step 1227), then executes processing for adding the recoveryprediction information to the template for the section event information(step 1210), and terminates the processing in this routine (step 1211).

Next, the content of the connecting-device effect judgment processingwill be explained with reference to flowcharts in FIG. 22 and FIG. 23.

If an affirmative judgment is returned in step 1106 in FIG. 18, theeffect judgment program 124 starts the connecting-device effect judgmentprocessing (step 1300).

The effect judgment program 124 judges, based on the received event,whether or not a failure has occurred in a port such as the relay port41 (step 1301). If a negative judgment is returned in step 1301, theeffect judgment program 124 proceeds to processing in step 1309; and ifan affirmative judgment is returned in step 1301, the effect judgmentprogram 124 identifies the real volumes 26, to or from which input oroutput is performed via this port, and the virtual volume 371, which iscomposed of these real volumes 26, based on information about the relayport 41, where the failure occurred, the logical resource information521, and the resource connection information 523 (step 1302), identifiesthe domain based on the identified virtual volume 371 (step 1303), andjudges, based on the physical resource information 522 and the resourceconnection information 523, whether an alternate path for the identifiedreal volumes 26 exists or not (step 1304).

Next, if it is determined that the alternate path exists, the effectjudgment program 124 executes processing for adding the availability andperformance degradation information to the template for the sectionevent information (step 1305), then executes processing for adding therecovery prediction information to the template for the section eventinformation (step 1306), and terminates the processing in this routine(step 1308).

On the other hand, if a negative judgment is returned in step 1304, thismeans the alternate path does not exist. So, the effect judgment program1214 executes processing for adding the failure information to thetemplate for the section event information (step 1307), executesprocessing for adding the recovery prediction information to thetemplate for the section event information (step 1306), and terminatesthe processing in this routine (step 1308).

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 23, if a negative judgment is returned instep 1301, the effect judgment program 124 judges whether a failure hasoccurred in the power source 42 in the relay device 4 or not (step1309). If an affirmative judgment is returned in step 1309, the effectjudgment program 124 identifies the real volumes 26 (usually a pluralityof real volumes 26), to/from which input or output is performed via theconnecting device 4 where the failure occurred, and the virtual volume371 which is formed of these real volumes (step 1310), identifies thedomain based on the identified virtual volume 371 (step 1311), andjudges whether or not an alternate power source exists in the connectingdevice 4 where the failure occurred, by referring to the physicalresource information 522 (step 1312).

If an affirmative judgment is returned in step 1312, the effect judgmentprogram 124 executes processing for adding the availability degradationinformation to the template for the section event information (step1313) and proceeds to step 1306.

If a negative judgment is returned in step 1312, that is, if thealternate power source does not exist, the effect judgment program 124executes processing for adding the failure information to the templatefor the section event information (step 1314) and proceeds to step 1308.

Furthermore, if a negative judgment is returned in step 1309, the effectjudgment program 124 executes processing for judging the other effects(step 1315) and proceeds to step 1306.

Next, the content of the server-device effect judgment processing willbe explained with reference to flowcharts in FIG. 24 and FIG. 25.

If an affirmative judgment is returned in step 1108 in FIG. 18, theeffect judgment program 124 starts the server-device effect judgmentprocessing (step 1400).

The effect judgment program 124 judges, based on the received event,whether or not a failure has occurred in the host bus adapter (HBA) 33or a port such as the host port 331 (step 1401). If a negative judgmentis returned in step 1401, the effect judgment program 124 proceeds toprocessing in step 1409; and if an affirmative judgment is returned instep 1401, the effect judgment program 124 identifies the virtual volume371, which is configured in the hypervisor 37 of the server device 3having this host bus adapter 33 or the host port 331, based on thelogical resource information 521 and the physical resource information522 (step 1402), identifies the domain based on the identified virtualvolume 371 (step 1403), and judges whether alternate access to the realvolumes 26 constituting the virtual volume 371 is possible or not, byreferring to the logical resource information 521, the physical resourceinformation 522, and the resource connection information 523 (step1404).

If an affirmative judgment is returned in step 1404, that is, if thealternate access is possible, the effect judgment program 124 executesprocessing for adding the performance and availability degradationinformation to the template for the section event information (step1405), then executes processing for adding the recovery predictioninformation to the template for the section event information (step1406), and terminates the processing in this routine (step 1408).

On the other hand, if a negative judgment is returned in step 1404, thatis, if the alternate access is impossible, the effect judgment program124 executes processing for adding the failure information to thetemplate for the section event information (step 1407), and thenproceeds to processing in step 1406.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 25, if a negative judgment isreturned in step 1401, the effect judgment program 124 judges whether ornot a failure has occurred in the power source 34 in the server device 3(step 1409). If an affirmative judgment is returned in step 1409, theeffect judgment program 124 identifies the virtual volume 321, which isconfigured in the hypervisor 37 of the server device 3 where the failureoccurred, based on the logical resource information 521 (step 1410),identifies the domain based on the identified virtual volume 321 (step1411), and identifies, based on the physical resource information 522,whether or not an alternate power source exists in the server device 3where the failure occurred (step 1412).

If an affirmative judgment is returned in step 1412, the effect judgmentprogram 124 executes processing for adding the availability degradationinformation to the template for the section event information (step1413), and then proceeds to processing in step 1406.

If a negative judgment is returned in step 1410, that is, if thealternate power source does not exist, the effect judgment program 124executes processing for adding the failure information to the templatefor the section event information (step 1414), and then proceeds toprocessing in step 1406.

Furthermore, if a negative judgment is returned in step 1409, the effectjudgment program 124 executes processing for judging other effects (step1415), then executes processing for adding the recovery predictioninformation to the template for the section event information (step1406), and terminates the processing in this routine (step 1408).

Next, the processing content of the event notification program (for thedomain administrator) 125 will be explained with reference to aflowchart in FIG. 26.

This processing is started by activation of the event notificationprogram (for the domain administrator) 125 by the processor 11 for theevent notification system 1 in step 111 of the processing flow shown inFIG. 18 (step 1500). The target of the following sequence of processingis the template for the section event information formed by the effectjudgment program 124. At this point, the template for the section eventinformation has become a complete form of the section event informationto be reported to the section management system 61.

The event notification program (for the domain administrator) 125selects one virtual volume 371 included in the template for the sectionevent information (step 1501), obtains event notice settings defined forthe selected virtual volume 371 from the event filter information 121,and judges whether or not any information that satisfies notificationconditions of the event notice settings exists in the content of thereceived event (step 1503).

Next, if an affirmative judgment is returned in step 1503, the eventnotification program (for the domain administrator) 125 identifies thedomain, to which the virtual volume 371 is allocated, based on thelogical resource information 521, further identifies an event noticedestination of the management system 61, which manages that domain,based on the domain information 524 (step 1504), and executes processingfor notifying the identified management system 61 of the section eventinformation (step 1505). The content of the notice includes theidentifier of the virtual volume 371, information indicating theoccurred incident of the service level violation, and informationindicating the overview of the cause. Furthermore, the content of thenotice can include the restoration scheduled time based on the timerequired for alternation 122C or the time required for replacement 122D,the event occurrence time, and information about the service leveldefined for the virtual volume 371.

Subsequently, the event notification program (for the domainadministrator) 125 judges whether or not information about the nextvirtual volume 371 is included in the section event information (step1506); and if an affirmative judgment is returned in step 1506, theevent notification program (for the domain administrator) 125 selectsnext one virtual volume 371 (step 1507) and then repeats the processingfrom step 1502 to step 1506.

If a negative judgment is returned in step 1503, the event notificationprogram (for the domain administrator) 125 executes processing in step1506; and if a negative judgment is returned in step 1506, the eventnotification program (for the domain administrator) 125 terminates theprocessing in this routine (step 1508).

Next, FIG. 27 shows a display example of a domain event informationdisplay screen.

Referring to FIG. 27, a domain event information display screen 82 is ascreen displayed on the user terminal used by the section administratorand is constituted from a list 821 and a details area 822. The domainevent information display screen 82 is formed by the section managementsystem 61 and information displayed on this screen is based on thesection event information sent by the event notification program (forthe domain administrator) 125 to the section management system 61.

The list 821 is constituted from an ID 821A, an overview 821B, a target821C, restoration scheduled time 821D, and a status 821E.

The ID 821A displays an identifier for identifying the relevant event.For example, a first entry displays WARN_012 as the identifier of therelevant event. The overview 821B displays information about theoverview of the relevant service level violation incident. For example,if the reliability of the virtual volume 371 degrades, the overview 821Bdisplays Virtual Volume Reliability Degradation. The target 821Cdisplays an identifier for identifying the site where the relevantfailure occurred. For example, if a failure occurs in the virtual volume#0 371, the target 821C displays VV0. The restoration scheduled time821D displays the scheduled date and time for restoration of the failuresite restoration. The status 821E displays: GENERATED when an event isgenerated; or RESTORED when the failure site has been restored. Whetherthe failure has been restored or not is judged and displayed based onthe logical resource information 521 and the physical resourceinformation 522.

The details area 822 displays the details of the relevant event relatingto which the failure occurred. This details area 822 displays thecontent of an entry selected from the list 821 as detailed information.For example, if WARN_012 of the first entry is selected from the list821, the details area 822 displays the overview, target, time, cause,service level, and restoration scheduled time as display items withrespect to the selected identifier.

The overview area displays Virtual Volume Reliability Degradation andthe target area displays Virtual Volume VV0 (already allocated toVirtual Server VM0).

The time area displays a date and time of the occurrence of the failure.The cause area displays, for example, Storage Failure Requiring DeviceReplacement and the service level area displays, for example,Performance A, Reliability A, and Availability A as the service levelset to the virtual volume VV0. Furthermore, the restoration scheduledtime area displays the scheduled date and time of restoration of thefailure site.

The user can recognize the information displayed in the list 821 and thedetails area 822 on the domain event information display screen 82 byoperating the domain event information display screen 82 of the userterminal.

Next, FIG. 28 shows a display example of a system information displayscreen.

Referring to FIG. 28, a system information display screen 83 is adisplay screen of a terminal used by the system administrator 930 and isconstituted from a list 831, a details area 832, and anotice-content-to-domain area 833. The system information display screen83 is formed by the overall management system 71 and informationdisplayed on this screen is based on the event information and thesection event information sent by the event notification program (forthe system administrator) 126 to the overall management system 71.

The list 831 displays a list of events sent from various devices anddisplays, with respect to each event, an ID 831A, an overview 831B, atarget 831C, time limit for restoration 831D, and a status 831E.

The ID 831A displays an identifier for identifying the relevant event,for example, ERR_527. The overview 831B displays, as the overview of therelevant event, for example: RAID Group Degeneration when a RAID groupin the storage apparatus 2 has degenerated; or Storage Power SourceFailure when a failure occurred in the power source 24 for the storageapparatus 2.

The target 831C displays an identifier for identifying the site wherethe relevant failure occurred. For example, if a RAID group regardingwhich the RAID group degeneration has occurred belongs to RG #0, thetarget 831C displays RG0.

The time limit for restoration 831D displays a date and time of the timelimit for restoration of the failure site. The time limit forrestoration is calculated from the failure restoration scheduleinformation 122 and the failure occurrence time included in the event.

The status 831E displays: GENERATED when an event is generated; orRESTORED when the failure site has been restored after the generation ofthe event.

If the administrator selects any of entries of the list 831, the detailsarea 832 displays the content of the selected entry. For example, if afirst entry of the list 831 is selected, the details area 832 displays,as the content of the selected entry, its ID, RAID Group Degeneration(during Single Parity Operation) as the overview, RAID Group RG0 andStorage Apparatus ST0 as failure occurrence sites.

Furthermore, the time area displays a date and time of the occurrence ofthe failure. The cause area displays, for example, HDD Failure as acause of the failure occurrence. The time limit for restoration displaysthe time limit (date and time) of restoration of the failure site.

The notice-content-to-domain area 833 displays the section eventinformation, which is caused by the event selected in the list 831 andreported to the section management system 61, in the same format as thatfor the content displayed in the details area 822 on the domain eventinformation display screen 82 in FIG. 27.

The system administrator 930 can recognize the information displayed inthe list 831, the details area 832, and the notice-content-to-domainarea 833 on the system information display screen 83 by operating thesystem information display screen 83.

If items for specifying the service level are defined in the servicelevel information corresponding to the identified virtual volume 371,the event notification system 1 calculates whether or not the servicelevel violation incident has occurred, based on the received event andnotifies the section management system 61 of the result as the event 91based on the event filter according to this embodiment.

According to this embodiment, the section administrator 931 canrecognize the occurrence of an incident in violation of the servicelevel by accessing the section management system 61, using the userterminal.

Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the event notification system1 notifies the overall management system 71 of the content of the eventin violation of the service level and also notifies the overallmanagement system 71 of the failure information which associates thecontent of the extracted event and the site where the failure occurred.

As a result, according to this embodiment, the system administrator 930for managing the entire system can recognize the content of the event inviolation of the service level and also recognize the content of thefailure information, which associates the content of the extracted eventand the site where the failure occurred, by operating the overallmanagement system 71, using the system administrator terminal.

Next, FIG. 29 shows a block configuration diagram of a computer systemaccording to a second embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 29, the computer system is constituted from an eventnotification system 100, a storage apparatus 2, server devices 3, aplurality of relay devices 4, a resource management system 500, asection A management server device 6, a section B management serverdevice 6, an overall management server 7, and a subordinate storageapparatus 200; and the respective elements are connected via an internalnetwork 9. For example, a LAN can be used as the internal network 9.

With the computer system according to this embodiment, the eventnotification system 100 is used instead of the event notification system1, the resource management system 500 is used instead of the resourcemanagement system 5, the storage apparatus 2 is located between theplurality of server devices 3 and the plurality of relay devices 4, andthe subordinate storage apparatus 200 is located as a storage apparatusbelonging to a subordinate tier of each relay device 4. Each serverdevice 3, each relay device 4, the section A management server device 6,the section B management server device 6, and the event notificationsystem 7 can be respectively composed of the same elements according tothe first embodiment.

The subordinate storage apparatus 200 has a plurality of real volumes201; and it also has a subordinate storage event generator (not shown)for generating an event(s) if a failure occurs in any of a plurality ofsubordinate storage resources constituting the subordinate storageapparatus 200.

Each real volume 201 is composed of storage areas of one or moresubordinate storage devices. For example, HDDs (Hard Disk Drives),semiconductor memory devices, optical disk devices, magneto-optical diskdevices, magnetic tape devices, and flexible disk devices can be used asthe subordinate storage devices.

The storage apparatus 2 has a function sending/receiving information ordata to/from the subordinate storage apparatus 200 via each relay device4 and also has a function as a storage event generator (not shown) forgenerating an event(s) if a failure occurs in any of the plurality ofstorage resources constituting the storage apparatus 2.

The storage apparatus 2 has a function as a virtualization mechanism sothat it virtualizes a plurality of real volumes 201 composed of storageareas of the subordinate storage devices (not shown) of the subordinatestorage apparatus 200 to be a plurality of virtual volumes 260 andmanages the plurality of virtualized virtual volumes 260. Each virtualvolume 260 is provided by the virtualization mechanism of the storageapparatus 2 in order for, for example, each server device 3 to storedata.

The subordinate storage apparatus 200 can be constituted from, forexample, subordinate storage units (not shown) having one or moresubordinate storage devices, and a subordinate controller (not shown)for sending/receiving information to/from the storage apparatus 2 viaeach relay device 4 and controlling data input to, or output from, thesubordinate storage units in response to an access request.

Each server device (SV0, SV1) 3 has a function sending/receivinginformation to/from the storage apparatus 2 and also has a function as aserver event generator (not shown) for generating an event(s) if afailure occurs in any of the plurality of server resources constitutingthe server device 3.

Each relay device 4 has a function relaying information or data sent andreceived between the storage apparatus 2 and the subordinate storageapparatus 200 and also has a function as a relay event generator (notshown) for generating an event(s) if a failure occurs in any of theplurality of relay resources constituting each relay device 4.

The resource management system 500 manages the plurality of storageresources (resources including physical resources and logical resources)constituting the storage apparatus 2, the plurality of server resources(resources including physical resources and logical resources)constituting each server device 3, the plurality of relay resources(resources including physical resources and logical resources)constituting each relay device 4, and the plurality of subordinatestorage resources (resources including physical resources and logicalresources) constituting the subordinate storage apparatus 200.

The event notification system 100 has a processor, a memory, and anetwork controller (any of which is not shown). If an event is generatedby any of each server device 3, the storage apparatus 2, each relaydevice 4, and the subordinate storage apparatus 200, the eventnotification system 1 receives the event via the internal network 9,judges the content of the received event, and identifies a virtualvolume 260 to be affected by the generation of the event from among theplurality of virtual volumes 260.

If the items for specifying the service levels are defined in theservice level information (not shown) corresponding to the identifiedvirtual volume 260 under the above-described circumstance, the eventnotification system 100 calculates whether an incident in violation ofthe defined service level has occurred or not, based on the receivedevent in accordance with the event filter information 121; and notifies,for example, the section management system 61 of the result.

Furthermore, the event notification system 100 notifies the overallmanagement system 71 of the event 92 which associates the event receivedfrom the device and the service level violation incident.

Next, FIG. 30 shows a logical configuration diagram of the storageapparatus and the subordinate storage apparatuses.

If a plurality of real volumes (PV0, PV1) 201 are mounted in asubordinate storage apparatus #0 200 and a plurality of real volumes(PV2 to PV5) 201 are mounted in a subordinate storage apparatus #1 200as shown in FIG. 30, the storage apparatus 2 virtualizes the real volume(PV0) 201 to configure a virtual volume (VV0) 260 and virtualizes thereal volume (PV1) 201 to configure a virtual volume (VV0) 260.Furthermore, the storage apparatus 2 virtualizes the real volumes (PV2to PV5) 201 respectively to configure virtual volumes (VV2 to VV5) 260.

Under this circumstance, the storage apparatus 2 connects each virtualvolume (VV0 to VV2) 260 to each controller port (CP00, CP10) 223,connects each virtual volume (VV3 to VV5) 260 to each controller port(CP01, CP11) 223, and provides each virtual volume (VV0 to VV5) 260 asan access target of the user terminal to each server device 3.

Next, FIG. 31 shows a configuration diagram of logical resourceinformation.

Referring to FIG. 31, logical resource information 5210 is informationfor managing a plurality of logical resources constituting the storageapparatus 2 or the subordinate storage apparatus 200 and is constitutedfrom an ID field 5210A, a type field 5210B, a subordinate resource IDfield 5210C, and a domain ID field 5210D.

The ID is information about an identifier for uniquely identifying eachlogical resource. Each entry of this ID field 5210A stores: PV0 to PV5when identifying a real volume 201; and VV0 to VV5 when identifying avirtual volume 260.

The type is information about a name for identifying the type of eachlogical resource. Each entry of the type field 5210B stores REAL VOLUMEwhen the relevant logical resource is a real volume 201.

The subordinate resource ID is an identifier for identifying a resourcelocated at a subordinate position of the logical resource with therelevant ID. Each entry of the subordinate resource ID field 5210Cstores the identifier of the relevant subordinate resource.

For example, if the real volume 201 is composed of a storage device ofthe storage apparatus #0 (LS0) 200, an entry corresponding to the realvolume 201 composed of the storage apparatus #0 (LS0) 200 stores LS0.Furthermore, if the virtual volume 260 is composed of the real volumes(PV0 to PV5) 201, an entry corresponding to this virtual volume 260stores PV0 to PV5.

The domain ID is an identifier for identifying a domain used for therelevant virtual volume 260. An entry corresponding to the virtualvolume 260 from among entries of the domain ID field 5210D stores DM0 orDM1 as information about the identifier.

Next, FIG. 32 shows another configuration diagram of the event filterinformation.

Referring to FIG. 32, event filter information 127 is information usedinstead of the event filter information 121 and is constituted from avirtual volume ID field 127A and a received logical message field 127B.

The virtual volume ID is information about an identifier for identifyinga virtual volume 371. Each entry of the virtual volume ID field 127Astores, for example, VV0 to VV3, as the identifier for identifying therelevant virtual volume 371.

The received logical message is information about logical messagesreceived by the user terminal. Each entry of the received logicalmessage field 127B stores information about the received logicalmessage. For example, if performance degradation, reliabilitydegradation, and availability degradation occur with respect to thevirtual volume 371, an entry of the received logical message field 127Bcorresponding to this virtual volume 371 stores information indicatingPerformance Degradation, Reliability Degradation, and AvailabilityDegradation.

According to this embodiment, the section administrator 931 canrecognize an incident(s) in violation of the service level by accessingthe section management system 61, using the user terminal.

Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the system administrator 930for managing the entire system can recognize the content of an even inviolation of the service level by operating the overall managementsystem 71, using the system administrator terminal, and recognize afailure by associating the site where the failure occurred, with theincident in violation of the service level.

Incidentally, the present invention is not limited to the aforementionedembodiments, and includes various variations. For example, theaforementioned embodiments have been described in detail in order toexplain the invention in an easily comprehensible manner and are notnecessarily limited to those having all the configurations explainedabove. Furthermore, part of the configuration of a certain embodimentcan be replaced with the configuration of another embodiment and theconfiguration of another embodiment can be added to the configuration ofa certain embodiment. Also, part of the configuration of each embodimentcan be deleted, or added to, or replaced with, the configuration ofanother configuration.

Furthermore, part or all of the aforementioned configurations,functions, processing units, processing means, and so on may be realizedby hardware by, for example, designing them in integrated circuits.Also, each of the aforementioned configurations, functions, and so onmay be realized by software by processors interpreting and executingprograms for realizing each of the functions. Information such asprograms, tables, and files for realizing each of the functions may berecorded and retained in memories, storage devices such as hard disksand SSDs (Solid State Drives), or storage media such as IC (IntegratedCircuit) cards, SD (Secure Digital) memory cards, and DVDs (DigitalVersatile Discs).

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

-   -   1 Event notification system    -   2 Storage apparatus    -   3 Server device    -   4 Relay device    -   5 Resource management system    -   6 Section A management server device, section B management        server device    -   7 Event notification system    -   26 Real volume    -   38 Virtual server    -   371 Virtual volume    -   22 Controller

The invention claimed is:
 1. A computer system comprising: a storage apparatus for controlling data input to, or output from, one or more storage devices and generating an event when a failure occurs in at least one of a plurality of physical resources used for the control; one or more server devices for managing a plurality of virtual volumes, which are obtained by virtualizing a plurality of real volumes composed of a storage area of the storage device, and for generating an event when a failure occurs in at least one of a plurality of physical resources used for the management; a management server, allocated to each of one or more domains, for managing a plurality of virtual volumes exclusively used by a virtual machine that belongs to one of the domains, the management server displaying a received message on a management terminal; and an event management device for managing at least the storage apparatus or the server device as a management target and managing an event generated by the management target; wherein when receiving the event from the management target, the event management device judges the content of the received event and identifies a virtual volume to be affected by the generation of the event based on event information including the content of the failure of the physical resource associated with the identified virtual volume, identifies managing the identified virtual volume, and a domain is identified and its management server is identified; and if a service level that should be satisfied by the identified volume is defined for the identified virtual volume, the event management device identifies, based on the content of the received event, whether an incident in violation of the defined service level has occurred or not, and notifies the identified management server device of the identified as an event based on an event filter.
 2. The computer system according to claim 1, further comprising an overall management server for managing the entire system including at least the storage apparatus and the server device, wherein the event management device notifies the overall management server of an event associating the received event with the event based on the event filter.
 3. The computer system according to claim 1, wherein if the identified content satisfies a condition of an event notification method defined by event filter information, the event management device notifies the management server device of the identified content as the event based on the event filter.
 4. The computer system according to claim 3, wherein if first filter information indicating that the content of the event does not reach the service level, or second filter information indicating that the occurrence of a violation of the service level will be always reported if the service level violation occurs, or third filter information indicating that restoration time equal to or longer than set time is required is defined in the event filter information as the condition of the event notification method, on condition that the identified content complies with the first filter information, the second filter information, or the third filter information, the event management device notifies the management server device of the identified content as the event based on the event filter.
 5. The computer system according to claim 1, wherein if the event management device notifies the management server device of the identified content as the event based on the event filter, it adds information about the incident in violation of the service level to the event based on the event filter.
 6. The computer system according to claim 2, wherein if the event management device notifies the overall management server of the associated event, it adds information about the incident in violation of the service level and event information including the content of the failure of the physical resource associated with the identified virtual volume, to the associated event.
 7. The computer system according to claim 1, wherein if a failure occurs in at least one of the plurality of physical resources used for the control, the storage apparatus sends event information including the content of the failure of the physical resource, as information to be added to the event, to the event management device; and wherein if a failure occurs in at least one of the plurality of physical resources used for the management, the server device sends event information including the content of the failure of the physical resource, as information to be added to the event, to the event management device.
 8. The computer system according to claim 1, wherein if the event management device judges, based on the received event, information indicating the occurred incident of the event and information indicating an overview of a cause of the generation of the event, and notifies the management server device of the identified content as the event based on the event filter, the event management device adds the information indicating the occurred incident of the event and the information indicating the overview of the cause of the generation of the event, as information about the incident in violation of the service level, to the event based on the event filter.
 9. The computer system according to claim 1, wherein the event management device relays information or data sent and received between the storage apparatus and the server device and manages, as the management target, a plurality of relay devices for generating an event when a failure occurs in at least one of the plurality of physical resources used for the relay.
 10. The computer system according to claim 1, further comprising: a subordinate storage apparatus for controlling data input to, or output from, one or more subordinate storage devices and generating an event when a failure occurs in at least one of a plurality of physical resources used for the control; a storage apparatus for managing a plurality of virtual volumes, which are obtained by virtualizing a plurality of real volumes composed of a storage area of the subordinate storage device, and for generating an event when a failure occurs in at least one of a plurality of physical resources used for the management; one or more server devices for sending or receiving information to or from the storage apparatus and for generating an event when a failure occurs in at least one of a plurality of physical resources used for the transmission and reception of the information; and a plurality of relay devices for relaying information or data sent and received between the subordinate storage apparatus and the storage apparatus and for generating an event when a failure occurs in at least one of a plurality of physical resources used for the relay; wherein the event management device manages the subordinate storage apparatus, the storage apparatus, the server device, and the relay device as the management target.
 11. An event notification method for a computer system including: a storage apparatus controlling data input to, or output from, one or more storage devices and generating an event when a failure occurs in at least one of a plurality of physical resources used for the control; one or more server devices managing a plurality of virtual volumes, which are obtained by virtualizing a plurality of real volumes composed of a storage area of the storage device, and for generating an event when a failure occurs in at least one of a plurality of physical resources used for the management; a management server, allocated to each of one or more domains, managing a plurality of virtual volumes exclusively used by a virtual machine that belongs to one of the domains, the management server displaying a received message on a management terminal; and an event management device managing at least the storage apparatus or the server device as a management target and managing an event generated by the management target; wherein the event notification method comprises: a step executed by the event management device of, when receiving the event from the management target, judging the content of the received event, identifying a virtual volume to be affected by the generation of the event from among the virtual volumes based on event information including the content of the failure of the physical resource associated with the identified virtual volume, and identifying managing the identified virtual volume, and a domain is identified and its management server is identified; a step executed by the event management device of, if a service level that should be satisfied by the identified virtual volume is defined for the identified virtual volume, identifying, based on the content of the received event, whether an incident in violation of the defined service level has occurred or not; and a step executed by the event management device of notifying the identified management server device of the identified content as an event based on an event filter.
 12. The event notification method for the computer system according to claim 11, further comprising a step executed by the event management device of notifying an overall management server, which manages the entire system including at least the storage apparatus and the server device, of an event associating the received event with the event based on the event filter.
 13. The event notification method for the computer system according to claim 11, further comprising a step executed by the event management device of, if the identified content satisfies a condition of an event notification method defined by event filter information, notifying the management server device of the identified content as the event based on the event filter.
 14. The event notification method for the computer system according to claim 13, further comprising a step executed by the event management device of notifying the management server device of the identified content as the event based on the event filter if first filter information indicating that the content of the event does not reach the service level, or second filter information indicating that the occurrence of a violation of the service level will be always reported if the service level violation occurs, or third filter information indicating that restoration time equal to or longer than set time is required is defined in the event filter information as the condition of the event notification method, and on condition that the identified content complies with the first filter information, the second filter information, or the third filter information.
 15. The event notification method for the computer system according to claim 11, further comprising a step executed by the event management device of adding information about the incident in violation of the service level to the event based on the event filter if it notifies the management server device of the identified content as the event based on the event filter. 